Costume designers who worked on BBC fantasy series ‘His Dark Materials’ are making scrubs for frontline NHS staff who are fighting the coronavirus pandemic.
Dulcie Scott, a costume maker on the TV adaptation of Phillip Pullman’s book trilogy, launched the Helping Dress Medics Initiative and has so far raised almost £9,000 to help provide doctors and nurses with protective clothing.
A post on the official ‘His Dark Materials’ Twitter account confirmed the charity project stating: "Our costume department are making scrubs for medics dealing with the Covid-19 virus in hospitals. Link below to donate towards materials! A heartwarming gesture from brilliant people we’re proud to call colleagues and friends. #HelpingDressMedics"
Scott further detailed the group’s goal on the GoFundMe page.
Her post on the Helping Dress Medics page read: "This group ‘s aim is to make scrubs for medics dealing with the Covid-19 virus in hospitals.
"The group was formed by various people who have worked together in the Costume Department of the TV series ‘His Dark Materials’, known as HDM, hence the group’s title. Several of the makers are in Cardiff (where the series was based). However, I’m in the north Cotswolds and another maker, Cathy, is in Plymouth. Cathy and I are both also organising for local help with our sewing. Similar schemes are now running very successfully in London and springing up elsewhere.
"Our aim is to keep it local and to supply to the hospitals closest by. This should make things quicker, keep costs down and ideally keep any risk of contagion to a minimum. We are liaising with hospital staff directly in the areas we live and taking advice from them about what they need, so that we can specifically help them."
Scott also shared an update on the GoFundMe page which details that announced that the Helping Dress Medics group has been joined by costume makers who have worked in a host of well-known productions, such as ‘Taboo’, ‘Downton Abbey’ and a ‘Batman’ movie.
Although many TV productions have been affected by the coronavirus outbreak, with shooting being postponed, the second series of ‘His Dark Materials’ has been largely unaffected by the spread of the disease with the majority of filming wrapping back in December 2019.
The first two seasons were shot back-to-back so young cast members like Dafne Keen and Amir Wilson did not visibly age on screen.
The programme boasts a star-studded cast that includes Ruth Wilson, James Cosmo, James McAvoy and his ex-wife Anne-Marie Duff.
His Dark Materials costume team make scrubs for British medics
